So compared to past U.S. heavyweights... Wilder's not very popular in the U.S. Why?

[TitoFan]

I hate the way Wilder lies about who is avoiding who when it comes to Joshua-Wilder. He knows he's no match for Joshua, who is a bona fide top heavyweight.

I respect both of those guys but I wouldn't consider myself a fan of either. That said, he's making a play for the big money jackpot fight and there's 0 wrong with that from his standpoint. Will he be competitive vs Fury or AJ? Only one way to find out. But he's going to make sure he gets money and as well he should!

BTW, I omitted a very important reason in the poll and I believe you nailed it. For the longest time the guy fought in frigging Alabama!!! I struggle to find the common sense in that. Then he finally graduates to Barclays Center in Brooklyn..... and then inexplicably schedules his next fight in Staples Center in L.A. I don't get it.

[El Kabong]

I hate the way Wilder lies about who is avoiding who when it comes to Joshua-Wilder. He knows he's no match for Joshua, who is a bona fide top heavyweight.

I respect both of those guys but I wouldn't consider myself a fan of either. That said, he's making a play for the big money jackpot fight and there's 0 wrong with that from his standpoint. Will he be competitive vs Fury or AJ? Only one way to find out. But he's going to make sure he gets money and as well he should!

BTW, I omitted a very important reason in the poll and I believe you nailed it. For the longest time the guy fought in frigging Alabama!!! I struggle to find the common sense in that. Then he finally graduates to Barclays Center in Brooklyn..... and then inexplicably schedules his next fight in Staples Center in L.A. I don't get it.

You get a guy like Arturo Gatti who was brilliant to watch but was by no means the greatest ever but he had a rabid fan following because he kept having battles at ATLANTIC CITY and in New York which built his fanbase in that geographic area.

Out of 49 total fights Gatti fought 41 of his fights in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut and 3 times in Pennsylvania....so 44 times out of 49 in the Northeastern US...it built him a big fanbase because those are boxing hotspots.


Alabama is college football territory

[boyla]

He isn't exactly a champion.

[El Kabong]

He isn't exactly a champion.

He's got a belt sooooo......

[Slim the BoxingManiac]

Wilder absolutely decimates Joshua if they meet.

Which is why Joshua wants nothing to do with him.

[Primo Carnera]

Wilder absolutely decimates Joshua if they meet.

Which is why Joshua wants nothing to do with him.

If Wilder can’t take Fury’s head off, he doesn’t deserve to be a champion . If Joshua gets “decimated” by Wilder, then Joshua doesn’t deserve to be a champion. If he can get caught by a guy 2 stone lighter with a windmill that can be seen from outer space, he doesn’t deserve to be a champion.
Tell me the last time Wilder KO’d someone where he didn’t
A. Hit them with a windmill
B. Throw about 10 Windmills
C. Took a 5 yard run up.
Now if you or I did one of the above, we would probably knock someone out ffs. That’s not Boxing.
To me, power is when you throw an uppercut for example with hardly any swing and knock someone out. Like Mike Tyson did. Now that is power.
If the most powerful and effective way to Box was to swing like acwhirling dervish doing an impression of a giant Bambi on ice, then everyone would box like that. But it’s not, is it?
The yanks by and large don’t get sucked in by hype, they only go overboard about quality fighters. That is why Wilder hasn’t touched the hearts of the public.

[Primo Carnera]

Furthermore, if Wilder were to beat Fury and AJ, Yeah the Americans would be happy to put the “smug Brits” in their place, but they still wouldn’t go overboard about Wilder because they’ll feel that Fury and AJ Aren’t any great shakes anyway.

[p4pking]

I’m not going to say Wilder is a great boxer, but all of that isn’t true Primo. Michael Grant A’s was mentioned was a good example, he wasn’t very good and got massive hype. Tommy Morrison and Gerry Cooney weren’t very good, I guess all that says is that for many race still plays a role, but still. Arturo Gatti wasn’t world class beyond the very beginning of his career, he was for the most part matched carefully during the height of his popularity, but he was exciting. So is Wilder. He has laid guys out with good punches, the windmills you are referring to come afterwards, as he is definitely a very sloppy finisher. Still, that’s hardly the reason anyone doesn’t want to watch him. You are highly overestimating the level of the average American fan, in terms of appreciating the craft. A lot of it is the fact that there just aren’t as many fans as there used to be. I think Kabong has a good point about where Wilder is from and has fought too.

I don’t think any real boxing fan wouldn’t be excited by the prospect of seeing Wilder against any other HW. They might think he has a slim chance, but they’d still want to see it.

[Spicoli]

As has been stated accurately location and venue has so much to do with it. But one word that keeps bouncing around my head is exposure. To the literal of tv dates and early consistent push and promotion, but also to the scrutiny and reveals that can come with exposure itself and the poor level of Wilders road kill that often left the announcers..if their were any..stating something about 'level of competition and work in process' etc. Add in obvious flaws early and the erratic over caffeinated caveman style and fans saw the holes and were not so easy to buy in or call Wilder the goods. Grab any previous American heavy from last the division peaked here..Holyfield to Bowe to Morrison to others like even Grant or a Larry Donald. All came up on bigger well known National platforms that were known weekly 'dates' for fight fans. It was regular and a given. From USA Tuesday night fights to ESPN to all the big 3 weekend boxing shows on ABC NBC or CBS. They came up gaining fans before they reached a major premier network. Wilder truth be told did not main event on hbo or Showtime until 7+ yrs in and prior to that he was buried on undercards. And that was also his last time in Vegas. His commercial tv spots were absolutely terrible and spotty at best being shown on Telefutura or a low advertised Fox1, again on undercards because the comp was iffy and it was known how raw he was. Networks want to feature competitive action in top positions..not predicatble crude muggings. I mean the man and his keepers just didn't seem to 'package' what was a big brash Olympic medalists and his pro debut took place literally in a bingo club with zero local or tv coverage. Even Shannon Briggs got National airtime and had the mentoring of Teddy Atlas as well as a writer-promoter yelling his praises in front of every camera and filling the New York Times with clip after clip on him. In fairness Briggs got his hbo date early and promptly imploded but he got to the dance. You hone and seed the base and grow outward. City to State to Country. Wilder has in a way actually done it backwards. What he sees as a problem or hassle is there to greatly benefit him and by that I mean AJ himself. Now that in itself has over shadowed the big picture at heavyweight but Wilder should have latched onto that shine and made it his own, attended the live fight where he was invited to be on the mic and aka in the face of AJ. Not talking about riding his coattails but you stake your claim. Likewise expand your base and travel. Instead he sort of settled on twitter wars, beating up mascots while pretending to understand Spanish and settled on maybe 4,5 recent spots in Alabama until Ortiz in Barclays.

And yelling incoherently does not count as great self promotion . Wilder has come a long way and I fully want him to refine and continue to improve but he doesn't come off like the brightest bulb on the string of lights honestly. But he now has the opportunity to combine brutal power, pop and top names better comp in major events that have been absent for so long. His turn to act like he's been in the room before.

[smashup]

The Klitschko brothers killed Heavyweight boxing in the US for home grown fighters and the public/promoters lost all interest.
Simple